


bad blood

by firebrands



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Exes, M/M, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, POV Natasha Romanov, POV Pepper Potts, POV Tony Stark, Reunions, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25036285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firebrands/pseuds/firebrands
Summary: Tony bumps into his awful, horrible, absolutely worst ex at an art gallery.His friends try to get to the bottom of why they broke up, because said ex is such a ray of sunshine.OR: Tony's friends love him very much but they are also very concerned. (Steve has no idea what's going on and he's just happy to be here.)fill for mystony bingoprompt: evil exes
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 19
Kudos: 265
Collections: Captain America/Iron Man Bingo





	bad blood

**Author's Note:**

> thank you [peach](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustpeachy/works) for listening to me whine about this and helping me through it!!! ily, truly.

Pepper chokes on her iced coffee when a tall, blond, beautiful man strides up to Tony and envelopes him in a hug.

“It’s been too long, Tony,” he says.

Tony has colored considerably, and looks a little disgruntled. Pepper tries to be as subtle as possible when she elbows him, waiting for an introduction.

“Pep, this is Steve. Steve, Pepper.”

Pepper composes herself and shakes Steve’s hand. _This_ was Steve Rogers? The worst man Tony had ever met? Impossible. _Steve Rogers was a common enough name_ , she thought. _Tony must have meant someone else._

“Nice to meet you,” Steve says, grinning. “So what brings you to the gallery?”

Pepper blinks, still reeling from the introduction. “I told Tony that there was a new artist displaying his work,” she says. “And I guess… you’re him?”

Steve laughs. “Really?” He turns to Tony. “I’m so glad you came, Tony. I’ve missed you.”

Tony looks up from his phone, doing his best impression to look disinterested. “Pepper didn’t leave me much choice,” he says, which isn’t actually a lie. Pepper had pulled the best friend card and offered to pay for lunch, and Tony had only agreed when she had promised to stand up and protect him from his ex, whose art was being displayed.

Pepper takes a sip of her coffee as Steve tries to engage Tony in conversation. Tony had used words like _awful_ , _horrible, terrible_ when he had explained why he didn’t want to go. Worst of all, he’d never told Pepper (or Rhodey, or _anyone_ ) why they’d broken up. When Pepper had tried digging, Rhodey didn’t have any answers for her. Back in college, he said, they were the picture of a perfect couple. Then… they weren’t. Tony didn’t talk about it. Ever. Something about this was _fishy_ , and Pepper was going to get to the bottom of it.

“How long are you in town for?” Pepper asks, smiling at Steve despite Tony very obviously stepping on her shoe.

“Just two weeks,” Steve says, still smiling and looking absolutely charming. “I have another exhibit in a different gallery, and I might hold a quick workshop.”

“That’s lovely,” Pepper says, sliding her toes from under Tony’s. “Maybe we can all grab dinner, if your schedule isn’t too full.”

Pepper doesn’t need to look at Tony to know that he’s frowning at her; she can feel his irritation come off in waves.

“Or _not_ ,” Tony says.

“I’ll make time,” Steve says. “But for now, I have to go—my curator’s been waving at me for the past minute and I don’t want to piss him off any more than I have.”

Pepper nods and smiles. “It was really nice meeting you, Steve.”

“You too! And it was great bumping into you, Tony.”

“Yup.”

“Well, here’s my card. Just let me know when and I’ll be there.”

“I will!”

“Or not!” And at that, Tony stomps away.

* * *

“Okay, tell me what happened,” Rhodey says, sighing as he sits down on Tony’s couch.

Tony’s pacing around the room, looking close to tearing out his hair, and Pepper is perched on the armrest beside Rhodey, sipping on a cup of tea.

“She—” Tony whirls around and points at Pepper. “Asked my _ex_ to _dinner_.”

“He’s just so nice, Tony! I want to get to know him,” Pepper says. She has the good sense to look chastened, but Rhodey wonders how much of it is sincere.

“Whose side are you on, anyway!” Tony whirls around and points at Pepper as he speaks. “And you!” He turns to look at Rhodey.

Rhodey holds his hands up—a practiced gesture, as he’s used to these outbursts from either of them.

Pepper sighs. “It’d help if we just knew why you broke up, honestly.”

“Why does it matter?” Tony asks, deflating all of the sudden and sinking down to sit beside Rhodey. “Why can’t you just believe me?”

Rhodey slings an arm over Tony’s shoulders. “It’s not that, and you know it,” he says. “We’ve always got your back.”

Pepper sets her cup aside and wedges herself beside Tony. “I’m sorry,” she says, hugging Tony and kissing his cheek. “I was just curious.”

Tony nods, still looking a bit put out.

“It’s been five years, Tones,” Rhodey says, rubbing his shoulder. “Guess we figured you’d be over it.”

“Yeah. He just doesn’t seem all that bad.” Pepper rests her head on Tony’s shoulder, and Rhodey playfully tugs on her ponytail after she speaks. _Don’t bring it back there_. She disregards him and continues. “What _did_ he do, anyway?”

Tony rolls his eyes and groans before burying his face in his hands. “Exist,” he says, voice muffled by his palms.

“Hey man, if you really don’t want to go we won’t force you,” Rhodey says, gently pulling Tony back up. He gives Pepper a warning look over Tony’s head.

“I know.” Tony sighs.

Pepper purses her lips, trying to hide a smile. “So do you want to?” She asks, before pulling Tony into another hug.

“Shut _up_ ,” Tony whines, half-heartedly trying to get out of her grip. After a short tussle, Tony rights himself up and scoots closer to Rhodey. She looks close to pulling him back into a hug, but her phone beeps.

“Dammit, that’s me.” Pepper dusts herself off. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Rhodey says. Pepper leans down and kisses them each on the cheek before leaving.

Tony sighs. “That woman.”

“We just don’t understand,” Rhodey says, fiddling with one of the buttons on the couch. “But you don’t need to explain if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, well,” he says, draping himself over Rhodey. “I don’t either.”

Rhodey pets Tony’s hair and makes a small, inquisitive sound.

“Just.” Tony sighs again, long and deep. “Who gave him the right, you know?”

“Huh?”

“To look so good,” Tony murmurs.

Rhodey lets out a small laugh. “Well, Tones, you don’t look so bad yourself. At least, most of the time.”

Tony flips over and glares at Rhodey. “I resent that. I am the picture of perfection at all times.”

Rhodey nods sagely, and smooths down Tony’s hair. “Yes, always. My apologies.”

Rhodey tips his head back and stares at the ceiling, and he’s about to fall asleep when he hears Tony whisper, “I don’t trust myself around him.”

“Why?” Rhodey sits up and looks down at Tony. “What do you mean?”

“I just can’t, okay?” Tony covers his face with his hands again. “I can’t.”

Rhodey shifts and moves Tony to sit up so he can look at him properly. “You know, even back then he never seemed like a bad guy,” he says, trying to catch Tony’s gaze. He tilts Tony’s chin up and looks at him sternly. “But I swear to god if he hurt you—”

“No.” Tony ducks his chin and looks away. “That’s not it.”

“What?”

“I really don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Okay.” Rhodey leans back and pats his lap, and Tony lies back down. “But promise me that if he did hurt you, you’ll let me punch him.”

Tony laughs softly and closes his eyes. “Yes, I will, honeybear. Now it’s nap time.”

Rhodey sighs, settles in, and wonders what on earth Steve could have done all those years ago that Tony’s still affected.

* * *

Natasha knows that she has this power over people that make them spill their secrets. She uses it wisely, most of the time.

Tony slides into the booth with their drinks and says, “Please do not ask me about what happened with Pepper yesterday.”

Natasha takes a sip of her drink. “Okay.” Of course, Pepper had already filled her in over what had happened, but Natasha respected Tony’s boundaries and didn’t want to pry—it was unbecoming.

They’re silent for a moment, and Natasha’s just about to bite into the olive of her martini when Tony sighs very loudly and snaps.

“I just don’t understand why she’d ask him to dinner!”

Natasha chews, swallows, and dabs her lips with a tissue. “Who?”

“Steve!”

“Who is Steve?”

“My ex!”

“And we hate him, yes?”

“Yes, Nat, he is the fucking _worst_ okay and we bumped into him at an exhibit and Pepper made googly eyes at him and said we should all catch up over dinner.” Tony takes a deep breath after his tirade, then deflates. He sips on his whisky sullenly.

“Did she really?” Natasha asks, leaning over the table. “Where are you going?”

“No she didn’t,” Tony mumbles. “I mean, I don’t know, she has his card or whatever, but it’s the _principle_ of the thing.”

Natasha nods. “I agree. Especially after what he did.”

Tony looks up with a start. “You know what he did?”

“Well, no. But it must have been awful for you to still be so salty about it.”

Tony huffs. “Yeah.”

Natasha sips her drink and pops another olive into her mouth. Yes, she was curious, but she knew better than to push; Tony was more hyper-verbal than usual tonight, and she always liked being people’s sounding board.

“Well—” she starts.

“I can’t believe—”

They both stop, and Natasha laughs. “You can’t believe…?”

Tony sighs again, and downs his drink. “He asked me to marry him, it was awful, and I hate him.”

It’s a good thing Natasha decided against taking a sip, else she would have choked on it.

“ _What_?”

Then Rhodey and Pepper arrive and Rhodey offers to buy a round and Natasha stares at Tony as he and Pepper talk about what to get for dinner.

* * *

Tony had gotten home so late last night that he still feels a little drunk when he wakes up. He downs a glass of water and crawls into the shower, the world still spinning when he steps out, and digs around his closet. He curses himself for forgetting to have his laundry done, and reaches into the recesses of the cabinet in the hopes of something decent to wear.

His fingers catch on something, and he pulls it out with a sigh of relief—only to yelp and drop the shirt when he sees it.

He stares at the hoodie on the floor, faded a little in the collar and at the cuffs, from how often he’d tug them. Tony squats down and picks it up, his heart clenching as memories come unbidden.

Even if he’s all alone, he can’t say why he hasn’t thrown out Steve’s favorite jacket. It didn’t even fit him properly, and stopped smelling like Steve years ago. He does remember—quite shamefully—that it’s the one thing of Steve’s he didn’t give back. After what had happened he’d packed up everything that reminded him of Steve and given it to him, except this.

And Steve, ever the considerate, kind, loving man that he was, never asked.

He remembers when Steve first leant it to him, months into their relationship. They’d gone out for a walk, and despite Tony’s own jacket he was shivering. The leaves had turned gold and red, and the breeze brought the reminder that winter was on its way.

Steve had slipped it off and given it to Tony, and after a token protest, Tony had put it on. He’ll never forget how brightly Steve smiled at him then—not that he ever wanted to.

The memory leaves a sour taste in Tony’s mouth. Even now, after all these years, he can’t fathom why he reacted the way he did. They’d talked about the future often enough, daydreamed about living together, about moving back to New York and starting a life.

They were good together. Great, even, now that Tony has had a fair share of relationships to be able to compare. Still, the years he spent with Steve were some of the happiest in his life, but the way they ended only served as proof that maybe the best things weren’t meant to last.

Tony sits down on the bed, still holding the hoodie. He was wearing it that day that Steve had upended everything.

He had just finished his dissertation defense, and Steve had invited him over for the weekend to celebrate. Steve had prepared a picnic for lunch, and the spring air was cool as they lazed on the blanket and ate sandwiches.

Tony remembers lying down and staring up at the trees, blinking as the sun peeked through the leaves.

“This is literally the happiest I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said.

“More than all the other times you’ve said that?” Steve teased, lying down beside him but propping himself up on his elbow so he could look at Tony.

Tony turned to him and smiled. “Yeah, definitely.” He pushed himself up a little and kissed Steve, his heart feeling so full it could burst.

“I love you,” he said.

Steve brushed Tony’s hair away from his face, smiling dopily at him. “Marry me,” he said.

Tony jumped up so quickly he ruined the artful arrangement of food in front of them.

“What?”

Steve sat up and looked just as panicked as Tony felt.

Then Tony ran.

Tony sighs, fiddling with the cuffs of the jacket. “God,” he says, and feels his voice echo around his apartment. The hours that followed Steve’s proposal were some of the worst in Tony’s memory, and he decides to make himself some food to get his mind off it.

Rhodey arrives a little before lunch, and looks surprised to see Tony awake.

“Well, that’s a look,” he says, setting down two cups of coffee.

“Thanks,” Tony says. He’s been in a dour mood since he’d stumbled upon Steve’s jacket. What’s worse is that he _didn’t_ have anything else to wear, and he felt a little unhinged by virtue of his outfit: Steve’s hoodie and a pair of very old jorts, fraying at the hem.

“You making lunch for two?”

“Guess I am now.”

Rhodey stands beside him and watches as Tony sullenly pokes his omelet.

“We gonna talk about—”

“I had nothing else to _wear_ , okay.”

“Okay.”

They’re silent for a moment, and Rhodey leaves to set the table.

“I guess Nat told you,” Tony says.

Rhodey freezes, the dinner plate in his hand hovering just above the table.

“I know it’s dumb.” Tony sighs and brings the dishes over. “At this point it’s just embarrassing.”

“Frankly, Tones, I’m surprised you even know the meaning of the word.”

Tony swats Rhodey on the back of the head. “You’re welcome for lunch, asshole.”

Rhodey laughs, and for a while they’re quiet as they eat.

“So why’s it embarrassing?”

Tony frowns. “Are you asking because you don’t know, or because you want to psychoanalyze me?”

“Ugh, please. I’m not Natasha.”

This shocks a laugh out of him. “Okay, fine.” Tony takes another moment to gather his thoughts, scattered as they are. “I just kept saying he was awful because it was easier that way. I never wanted you to know why because well, it’s dumb and I know you liked us together.”

Rhodey levels him with a look. “I don’t care who you’re with, Tony. I don’t think anyone’s ever going to be good enough for you. But you were happy, so I was happy. Simple as that.”

Tony bites down on his lip, which feels dangerously close to wobbling. “Rhodey, you are honestly my favorite person in the whole world.”

“Well, don’t let Pep hear you say that,” Rhodey says, laughing a little.

They don’t talk anymore about Steve after that, instead recount the shenanigans they’d gotten into the night before. Rhodey leaves after helping clean after lunch, and before Tony realizes it, he’s alone again.

Under the carrying tray of the coffee Rhodey had bought is a slip of paper, and Tony picks it up. It’s Steve’s card.

Tony sighs. A few days ago, when they’d bumped into Steve, he’d felt a shame so deep that he couldn’t even face him. But Steve had looked so earnest and sincere, like there was no bad blood between them. If Tony’s being honest, it’s not like there ever was any, anyway—it was just easier to paint Steve as the bad guy rather than ever admit that maybe Tony was wrong. After all, he’d never met anyone quite like him, never met anyone who understood him the way Steve did.

Tony bit his lip and pulled out his phone. He typed in the number on the card and held his breath.

Maybe they could just try and be friends. Like Rhodey said, it’s been five years. Besides, he’s probably married already anyway, or at least dating someone; it’s unfathomable that no one would snap him up.

The line rings, and the automated trill is cut when it’s picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey Steve, it’s Tony. You free tonight?”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on [tumblr](https://firebrands.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/firebrandss)!


End file.
